F E B R U A R Y 2 0 2 1

What you need to know

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GeoPlace is a public sector limited liability partnership between the Local Government Association and Ordnance Survey

SectorPartners

Public

SectorPartners

Public

SectorPartners

Public

Sector

PublicSector

Partners

PublicSector

PartnersPublic

SectorPartners

Public

SectorPartners

Public

Sector Partners

Public

OS products

Addr

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ase®

Addr

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Core

Address

Base®

Plus

AddressBase® Premi

um

AddressBase® Islands

OS Open UPRN

OS Open USRNChange intelligence for OS Surveyors

OS MasterMap Highways Network

AddressBase Incremental

Change Supply (ABICS)

Products & changeintelligence

GeoPlace

UPRNs 40,420,844

USRNs 1,50

3,655

336 Local Authorities

173 Highw

ays Authorities

FindMyAddress

FindMyStreet (Inc. List of Streets)

Local authorities

Local authoritiesCitizens

Citizens

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Priv

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2.5 billion street and address data records held2 million changes per month over the last 12 months

114 Statutory Undertakers

Highways EnglandTransport for LondonNetwork Rail

Welsh Government

Northern Ireland

Channel Isles

Isle of Man

Royal M

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Ordnan

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Valua

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About address & street data

Most councils have address and/or street gazetteers at the heart of business-critical systems and service delivery. This diagram shows how that data flows to and from GeoPlace.

Working with GeoPlace — what you need to know

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Good quality spatial information – knowing where people live, assets are and where services are provided – makes a substantial difference to the efficiency with which these services are delivered. Over many years, research has told us that about 85% of a typical council’s 700 or so different services rely on address and/or street information.

About address &

street data

Case studies, more information, and evidence of the benefits of well managed address and street information can be found via the GeoPlace website www.geoplace.co.uk

• over £50 million per annum efficiency savings identified.

• over 1,200 local government datasets depend upon address and/or street data; an average local authority has 30 core application systems that rely on address information.

• an annual survey by GeoPlace suggests that, on average, a local authority has linked 10 of these systems.

• 63% of savings have been made from faster and more efficient processes.

• 37% of savings have been made from more accurate delivery.

• 75% of authorities specifically used address gazetteer data to help implement new services.

• 72% of councils’ Customer Relationship Management (CRM) systems are reliant on using GeoPlace’s Unique Property Reference Number (UPRN) and Unique Street Reference Number (USRN).

GeoPlace-commissioned studies show:

• improvements in the quality of council tax and non-domestic rate records.

• improved electoral register records.

• better coordination of information to and from citizens, making sure the right services are delivered to the right location.

• improvements to planning, building control and environmental services.

• management of street works and street maintenance.

• knowing where your customers are and which public services they are using.

• supporting other departmental back office systems such as CRM and online services.

• supporting evidence-based decision making across the whole business.

• improved partnership working between organisations at a local level.

• gaining efficiencies in information management more generally.

Other local benefits of good quality address and street data include:

P3Working with GeoPlace — what you need to know

www.geoplace.co.uk

We manage and deliver:

• established data exchange and processes to maintain the National Address Gazetteer (NAG) and the National Street Gazetteer (NSG), and we support our partners who create and maintain that data.

• data to the market – either through OS as the AddressBase® and OS MasterMap Highway® products or, in the case of the NSG, directly to statutory users.

• geospatial information that underpins the UK’s digital economy and transforms public services. The use of our data leads to lower risks and costs; higher productivity and profitability, and it brings down many of the practical barriers to transformation and innovation across both the public and private sector.

Our annual business statement is available at https://www.geoplace.co.uk/about-us/our-people/the-board.

The Joint Authorities Group(UK)

The Joint Authorities Group - JAG(UK) - https://www.jaguk.org/ represents the organisations responsible for the roads and streets of the United Kingdom.

JAG(UK) support the management of all works on the highway and road network. This includes coordination of these works as well as other events that take place on the roads. JAG(UK) also provides a link between governments and authorities, helping them to provide desired outcomes in highways and roads issues.

JAG(UK)’s member organisations are primarily local authorities and similar bodies whose principal activities are governed by highways, street, road and traffic management legislation. Their responsibilities include regulation of streets and roads, with a view to maintaining public safety, asset integrity and the movement of people and goods.

JAG(UK) is part of the GeoPlace family. This gives it a strategic link to the LGA, strong links to the NSG community and links to other professional services that help deliver a more relevant and valued service to members.

About GeoPlace GeoPlace LLP is owned equally by the Local Government Association (LGA) and Ordnance Survey (OS). Our work involves balancing stakeholders’ needs for a common purpose: maintaining the definitive geospatial databases for Great Britain, Northern Ireland, the Isle of Man and the Channel Islands.

P4Working with GeoPlace — what you need to know

https://www.geoplace.co.uk/about-us/our-people/the-boardhttps://www.jaguk.org/https://www.jaguk.org/https://www.jaguk.org/https://www.geoplace.co.uk/about-us/our-people/the-boardhttps://www.jaguk.org/

About G

eoPlace

Policy contextGeoPlace plays an important role in underpinning the UK’s digital economy and the transformation of public services to improve the lives of citizens. This was acknowledged by the Rt Hon Matthew Hancock MP, the then Minister for the Cabinet Office and Paymaster General, in his keynote presentation at GeoPlace’s 2016 annual conference.

Recognising the importance of addressing, the Minister stated that: “Addresses are invaluable to our economy and our public services.” He particularly highlighted the UPRN:

“ The UPRN is the jewel at the heart of the addressing system, the UPRN facilitates greater accuracy and immediate data sharing and matching – delivering better services and better outcomes for citizens”.

At the GeoPlace conference in 2019, Jesse Norman MP, Minister of State for the Department of Transport highlighted the importance of collecting, maintaining, and using high-quality local data in all aspects of transportation and in all

parts of the country. Excellent local street data supports the maintenance and improvement of our nation’s road network and general transport infrastructure. It also enables us to meet tomorrow’s challenges, such as the roll-out of electric and autonomous vehicles and the Future of Mobility Grand Challenge, which is part of the Government’s wider Industrial Strategy.

Our strategic objectives are underpinned by recognition at the highest levels that government, businesses and services need access to the very best address and street data, and they need to have the capability to precisely pinpoint an address and a street. GeoPlace’s aim is to provide the data that will play a formative part in shaping how businesses and government use address and street data to improve public services, benefit businesses, and improve the way the public receives goods. GeoPlace is therefore driving improvement, excellence, and innovation through the use of this data.

The Geospatial CommissionThe Geospatial Commission was established in 2018 as an independent, expert committee of the Cabinet Office. It is responsible for setting the UK’s geospatial strategy and coordinating public sector geospatial activity. Its aim is to unlock the significant economic, social and environmental opportunities offered by location data and to boost the UK’s global geospatial expertise.

• On the 2nd of April 2020, the Geospatial Commission announced that USRNs and UPRNs had been released under Open Government Licence. Additionally, the Open Standards Board, via Government Digital Service (GDS), mandated that from 1st July 2020, the UPRN and USRN are the public sector standard for referencing and sharing property and street information.

P5Working with GeoPlace — what you need to know

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/open-standards-for-government/identifying-property-and-street-informationhttps://www.gov.uk/government/publications/open-standards-for-government/identifying-property-and-street-information

About the contractual agreements

The Public Sector Geospatial Agreement (PSGA) The PSGA is managed by OS as part of an agreement with the Minister for the Cabinet Office on behalf of the Crown. Through an expert committee of the Cabinet Office and the Geospatial Commission, the PSGA focuses on the licensing of data and supply of services to the public sector in England and Wales and Scotland.

The PSGA began on July 1st 2020. It’s a ten-year agreement that provides the public sector in England and Wales with a portfolio of OS data products, available on consistent licence terms. It’s centrally-funded by the Government on behalf of the rest of the public sector. The PSGA is expected to expand on significant efficiency savings and improvements in public service delivery for the benefit of individuals and businesses in England and Wales. The PSGA is administered by the Geospatial Commission. Scotland joined the agreement on the 19th of May 2020, replacing the One Scotland Mapping Agreement (OSMA) and the Greenspace Scotland contracts. Details of the agreement can be found here.

The Data Co-operation Agreement (DCA) The DCA started on the 1st of April 2012 and is an agreement between GeoPlace and all County, District, and Unitary councils in England and Wales. It has, over time, been varied on three occasions, the last being December 2020. It provides for a legally binding agreement between the parties to support the creation, compilation, and maintenance of the NAG and the NSG. The DCA is formally linked to membership of the PSGA.

The PSGA and DCA underpin Government recognition of the substantial social and economic benefits that ‘core reference geography’ can bring. They form part of the framework put in place to enable access to definitive spatial information for the whole of the public sector through the PSGA. The DCA also recognises the critical role that councils have in the creation and source of address and/or street data as Authority Updates through the DCA.

A redacted version of the DCA can be found here.

Scotland, Northern Ireland, Isle of Man and the Channel Islands GeoPlace also receives spatial address data for the 32 Scottish local authorities, from a central hub managed by the Scottish Improvement Service. Similar administrative arrangements exist with Northern Ireland, Isle of Man and the Channel Islands. This enables the provision of a UK and islands spatial address dataset to OS.

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https://www.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/business-government/public-sector-geospatial-agreementhttps://www.geoplace.co.uk/local-authority-resources/guidance-for-custodians/how-to/data-cooperation-agreement

About the DCA GeoPlace facilitates and manages a well-defined DCA governance structure on behalf of all authority contacts. This structure is outlined below.

Regional ChairsAddress Group

Regional ChairsStreets Group

Region Authority Contacts Meeting(s) and area meetings

Region Authority Contacts

GeoPlace Engagement

GeoPlace LLP BoardLocal

GovernmentAssociation (LGA)

OrdnanceSurvey (OS)

Data Co-operationAgreement

Commercial Address/Street

users

Geospatial Commission User

Expert Programme

Statutory Undertakers

Address user group(s)

Street user group(s)

Authority Contacts Executive

PSGA Member Licence

KeyLicenceDialogue

P7Working with GeoPlace — what you need to know

There are ten regions in the DCA governance structure: East of England, East Midlands, Greater London, North East, North West, South East, South West, Wales, West Midlands, Yorkshire and the Humber. The key contact roles (defined as an Authority Contact in the DCA) within each authority are as follows:

DCA authority contact role Responsibility

DCA Authority Principal Contact Be appointed as the main point of contact for all matters pertaining to the DCA.

Authority Address Custodian Be appointed as the main point of contact for maintaining and submitting Authority Address Updates that are recorded at or above the achieved national standard in accordance with the conventions and specification (contained in the DEC-Addresses and the DTF).

Additional Authority Address Custodian

As per the Authority Address Custodian.

Street Naming and Numbering Officer

Ensuring that the Authority Address Custodian is aware of all new or changed street names, building numbers or names.

Authority Street Custodian Be appointed as the main point of contact for maintaining and submitting Authority Street Updates that are recorded at or above the achieved national standard in accordance with the conventions and specification (contained in the DEC-Streets and the DTF).

Additional Authority Street Custodian

As per the Authority Street Custodian.

ASD Maintainer As per the Authority Street Custodian but only for associated street data.

Public Rights of Way Officer Ensuring that the Authority Street Custodian is aware of all new or changed Public Rights of Way.

Traffic Manager Ensuring that the Authority Street Custodian is aware of all new or changed traffic management schemes.

Street Works Manager Ensuring that the Authority Street Custodian is aware of all new or changed records that influence street works activities.

JAG(UK) representative (through a separate agreement)

The DCA participating authority member of JAG (UK) representing the interests of the Local Highway Authority.

About the D

CA

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Every three years, each Authority Custodian with either address or street responsibilities is invited to elect an address or street Regional Chair and Deputy for their region.

Once elected, in addition to leading their own regional meetings / communications, they meet with other Regional Chairs as an address or street representation group on a quarterly basis. The terms of reference for these groups can be found here.

Also on a three-yearly basis, each address or street Regional Chairs Group elects a Principal Chair and Deputy Principal Chair to represent all the DCA authorities at ACE (Authority Contacts Executive). The terms of reference for this group can be found here.

The ACE (the two Principal Chair representatives and two from GeoPlace) meets monthly and liaises with GeoPlace, the Regional Chairs groups, the LGA and the GeoPlace Board.

A diagram of the structure of the DCA governance, GeoPlace services and authority contract roles is as follows:

About the D

CA

Governance Framework

Regional Chairs Street

Custodian Group

Regional Chairs Address

Custodian Group

Authority Contacts Executive

Regional Networking & Meeting(s)

Authority Contacts

GeoPlace/AuthorityData Co-operation Agreement

About your DCA community

GeoPlace Services

GeoPlace services website(online support, reports, COU and NSG data tools)

GeoPlace Authority Liaison(Authority Updates/Exceptional

Circumstances support)

GeoPlace update reportsValidation, comparisons,

checks, candidates, status

Support and development(Training, Knowledge Hub, news and Supplier liaison)

GeoPlace Helpdesk(email/phone support)

GeoPlace website(information and resources)

Authority Contacts

AuthorityAddress

Custodian

AuthorityStreet

Custodian

DCA Authority Principal Contact

Additional Authority Address CustodianStreet Naming and Numbering OfficerAdditional Authority Street Custodian

ASD MaintainerPublic Rights of Way OfficerTMA Traffic ManagerNRSWA Street Works ManagerJAG(UK) representative

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https://www.geoplace.co.uk/local-authority-resources/guidance-for-custodians/how-to/data-cooperation-agreementhttps://www.geoplace.co.uk/local-authority-resources/guidance-for-custodians/how-to/data-cooperation-agreement

All Authority Custodians or other appropriate role holders will be invited to attend these meetings in their region. Your Regional Chair will be able to provide you with further information.

Each year the GeoPlace conference and presentation of the Exemplar Awards takes place. All local authorities are invited to attend to network with colleagues and GeoPlace, share information, receive awards for best practice, take part in workshops and hear from other users of address and street data.

• Share ideas and ask questions.

• Share good practice and effective ways of working.

• Meet and network with your colleagues.

• Request that issues or questions be considered by the Chairs group via your regional Chair.

• Review the monthly statistics.

• Be involved in workshops to benefit from best practice.

• Receive updates from Working Groups where relevant.

Regional and national meetingsRegional meetings take place twice a year. They are held by the relevant Regional Chair and represent an opportunity for custodians to:

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Key contacts and supportWithin GeoPlace, key contact details are:

• Website - www.geoplace.co.uk

• Helpdesk - support@geoplace.co.uk or telephone 020 7630 4602

• Our main office number - 020 7630 4600

Your Regional Chair is important. As an Authority Custodian in a council in your region, this person represents you on a national level. You can find out who it is by emailing support@geoplace.co.uk

P11Working with GeoPlace — what you need to know

http://www.geoplace.co.uk/http://www.geoplace.co.uk/http://www.geoplace.co.uk/mailto:support@geoplace.co.ukmailto:support@geoplace.co.ukhttps://www.geoplace.co.uk

Key documents and resources

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The GeoPlace website - www.geoplace.co.uk — contains a wealth of information designed to help you in your day-to-day role.

Within the GeoPlace website, there are Frequently Asked Questions and details for joining and logging on to the online collaboration platform for the GeoPlace community, the Knowledge Hub (Khub). These can be found under the GeoPlace-Helpdesk Services menu, here.

Being an Authority Address and/or Street Custodian means you need to follow agreed standards and conventions in creating and maintaining the Authority Updates you send to GeoPlace.

These conventions are laid out in the following documents:

• GeoPlace Data Entry Conventions for Addresses (DEC-Addresses)

• GeoPlace Data Entry Conventions for Streets (DEC-Streets

• GeoPlace Data Transfer Format for Addresses (DTF-Addresses)

• GeoPlace Data Transfer Format for Streets (DTF-Streets

These can be found in the Authority Resources section on the GeoPlace website here

The GeoPlace services website provides access to a wide range of online data tools and services, including a search site with national coverage, a ‘Where’s my COU file?’ checker, a coordinates review tool, NSG uploader/downloader, statistics downloads and GeoGateway. There is also an online Local Authority Dashboard for data matching.

GeoPlace runs an annual Awards programme to highlight and reward innovative working and best practice in the management of address and street data. Case studies from the previous years’ Exemplar Awards – showing best practice in the creation and use of address and street data – are on the GeoPlace website here.

GeoPlace also offers a training programme for everyone who’s new to the role or who wants a refresher. You’ll find more details on the GeoPlace website.

The DCA provides an ongoing data improvement programme. In the DCA there is an annual data quality Improvement Schedule that supports data improvement pledges for Authority Updates over the year. These are monitored through monthly reports supplied to all Authority Custodians.

GeoPlace issue weekly emails with a summary of key information relating to address and street data. A monthly update also provides a wider update including relevant news and policy updates.

The Knowledge Hub is an online professional networking website that provides key information and updates about what is going on in the local government community. GeoPlace facilitate a Group within the Knowledge Hub specifically relating to address and street data called GeoPlace Authority Contacts Knowledge Hub. To join:

• Go to the Knowledge Hub

• Register and create a Profile and add a photo of yourself (optional)

• Search and apply to join the GeoPlace Authority Contacts Group

If you need help or have any questions, please email Communications@GeoPlace.co.uk

We hope this document was useful. If you have any suggestions for improving it, please do let us know by emailing Communications@GeoPlace.co.uk

Key documents and resources

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http://www.geoplace.co.uk/http://www.geoplace.co.uk/https://www.geoplace.co.uk/https://www.geoplace.co.uk/https://khub.net/https://www.geoplace.co.uk/local-authority-resources/support-for-custodians/contact-help-deskhttps://www.geoplace.co.uk/local-authority-resources/guidance-for-custodians/data-creation-and-maintenancehttps://services.geoplace.co.uk/streethttps://www.geoplace.co.uk/search-results?q=awardshttps://www.geoplace.co.uk/search-results?q=awardshttps://www.geoplace.co.uk/search-results?q=case+studieshttps://www.geoplace.co.uk/local-authority-resources/support-for-custodians/training/https://www.geoplace.co.uk/local-authority-resources/support-for-custodians/training/https://www.geoplace.co.uk/search-results?q=improvement+schedulehttps://khub.net/https://khub.net/https://khub.net/https://www.geoplace.co.ukhttps://www.geoplace.co.ukhttps://khub.net/https://www.geoplace.co.uk/local-authority-resources/support-for-custodians/contact-help-deskhttps://www.geoplace.co.uk/local-authority-resources/guidance-for-custodians/data-creation-and-maintenancehttps://services.geoplace.co.uk/streethttps://www.geoplace.co.uk/search-results?q=awardshttps://www.geoplace.co.uk/search-results?q=awardshttps://www.geoplace.co.uk/search-results?q=case+studieshttps://www.geoplace.co.uk/local-authority-resources/support-for-custodians/training/https://www.geoplace.co.uk/local-authority-resources/support-for-custodians/training/https://www.geoplace.co.uk/search-results?q=improvement+schedulehttps://khub.net/https://khub.net/mailto:Communications@GeoPlace.co.ukmailto:Communications@GeoPlace.co.uk

FindMyAddress helps users search for the official address, UPRN and location of every property in England, Scotland and Wales.

FindMyStreet helps people to understand more about the street network in England and Wales: where a street is, what its official name is in the National Street Gazetteer and who’s responsible for its maintenance.

FindMyAddress and FindMyStreet GeoPlace has developed two services designed to reduce the burden on local authorities responding to queries about UPRNs and USRNs.

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https://www.findmystreet.co.uk/https://www.findmyaddress.co.uk/

geoplace.co.uk

USE

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RESO

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GeoPlace main officeT. 020 7630 4600

Helpdesksupport@geoplace.co.uk T. 020 7630 4602

@GeoPlaceLLPs.geo.place/linkedin

KEY CONTACTS GEOPLACE

KEY CONTACTS YOUR COUNCIL

KEY DOCUMENTS & RESOURCES

• Authority Address Custodian and/or your Authority Street Custodian

• DCA Authority Principal Contact• PSMA Principal Contact• Street Naming and Numbering Officer• Public Rights of Way Officer• Geographical Information Manager• Traffic Manager• Street Works Manager• JAG(UK) representative

• www.geoplace.co.uk• The Data Entry Conventions (DEC) • The Data Transfer Format (DTF)• Annual Awards programme • Annual national conference• Training programme • Data improvement programme • Annual Improvement Schedule • Weekly email bulletins • LA Dashboard• GeoGateway• GeoPlace Authority Contacts Group on Knowledge Hub• www.jaguk.org• Ordnance Survey• Public Sector Geospatial Agreement

GO

VERN

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STRU

CTU

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GEOPLACE ENGAGEMENT DCA GOVERNANCE

Authority Contacts Executive

Regional Chairs Address and Street

Groups

PSGA membershipCommercial Address

and Street UsersDCA key contacts375 organisations; 1200 people

AUTHORITY CUSTODIANS

AB

OU

TD

ATA

Improved electoral register records

Improvements to planning, building control and environmental services management of street

works and street maintenance

Improvements in the quality of council tax and non domestic rate records

BENEFITS

OVER 85%OF 700ADDRESS AND/OR STREET INFORMATIONCOUNCIL DELIVERS RELY ONDIFFERENT SERVICES A TYPICAL

COUNCILSUSE ADDRESSAND STREET DATATO HELP IMPLEMENT NEW SERVICES

COUNCILDATASETSOVER 1200

AND STREET DATADEPEND ON ADDRESS

CON

TRAC

TUA

LA

RRA

NG

EMEN

TS

The Data Co-operation Agreement

(DCA)

Administrative arrangements exist with

Scotland, Northern Ireland, Isle of Man and

the Channel Islands

The Public Sector Mapping

Agreement (PSMA)

CENTRE OF EXCELLENCEGeoPlace is the centre of excellence for the management of spatial address information and streets data for Great Britain.

AB

OU

TG

EOPL

ACE

OUR ORGANISATIONGeoPlace is a public sector limited liability partnership between the Local Government Association (LGA) and Ordnance Survey.

OUR ROLEWorking with local authorities we maintain the definitive address and street databases for the UK. We support the teams creating that data deliver it either through OS or directly to our statutory partners.

GeoPlace is a public sector limited liability partnership between the Local Government Association and Ordnance Survey

GeoPlace 157-197 Buckingham Palace Road · London · SW1W 9SZ T. 020 7630 4600 @GeoPlaceLLP s.geo.place/linkedin www.geoplace.co.uk

http://https://www.geoplace.co.uk

About address & street dataAbout GeoPlace About the contractual agreementsAbout the DCA Regional and national meetingsKey contacts and supportKey documents and resourcesFindMyAddress and FindMyStreet

Annual Business Statement: JAG UK: Public sector standard: Public sector standard 1: PSGA Details: DCA Details: Terms of Reference: Terms of Reference 1: GeoPlace: support@geoplace: co: uk: uk 1:

GeoPlace 2: GeoPlace 3: Training Programme: Training Programme 1: Improvement Programme: Best Practice: GeoPlace Services: GeoPlace Awards: GeoPlace Awards 1: Helpdesk: Authority Resources: Khub: Khub 1: Email Communications@GeoPlace: co: uk : uk 1:

Khub 2: FindMyAddress: FindMyStreet: GeoPlace 4: